17. MEskwa' (Greedy-One).

(Dictated by Q!ô'mg*ilis, a ?naqE'mg*ilisala, 1894.)

The Birth of Greedy-One.

A woman was dead, the sweetheart of a man. Behold! she only planned with her sweetheart that the woman should pretend to be dead. Then she was in the box, and she was taken into the woods. Then her sweetheart followed her, and cohabited with her in the coffin. Behold! the woman only pretended to be dead, and she cohabited again with her lover. Then a slave of the chief discovered (them). "Why does this man go to your dead wife?" said the slave to his master. "Let us go and see," said the chief to his slave. Then they went and opened the grave-box of his dead wife. She shut her eyes, but behold! she was only lying. Then he took his knife, and he cut open his dead wife. Then his wife was really dead. Behold! she was pregnant. Then he took her child and put it back into the box. He left it.

Then that slave again discovered the child. The one who was cut out of the dead wife was alive. Then he told his master. "What have I seen?" said the slave to his master. "What is that child, if it is (not) the one who was obtained by being cut out of your dead wife?" Thus said the slave. Then they looked. What should there be sitting in the box! Then he took it up in his arms and took it out of the woods to his house.

Then (the child) grew up, and shot all kinds of birds and all kinds of animals. Then (the child) spoke to his

friend, who was of the same size as he. "What do you think?" he said to his friend. "We will go up to the upper world." Thus he said to his friend. "How do you wish to do it?"--"I shall just give you my bird-mask." Then they flew to the upper world. They sat on the beach by a water. The daughter of our chief came and took up from the beach that bird. Then she had him as a pet [child]. She went in. Then Qwâ'qênit (that was the name of the child) took off his bird-mask, "Now you shall be my wife," said Qwâ'qênit to the daughter of the chief. He lay down with the daughter of our chief above.

Then spoke our chief above. "Come, come out of your room with your husband!" Thus said our chief. He spread the death-mat, and he sat down on it. He looked (thought) to kill Qwâ'qênit, but he was supernatural, and Qwâ'qênit did not die. Then he sat down in the house and ate with his wife. "Now you got my daughter," said our chief above.

Then the daughter of our chief above there had a child. Then she threw down her child. The slave of a chief was paddling about, and he heard crying. He looked for the place where the crying came from, and he discovered (the child) among the seaweeds. He took it and wrapped it up in his cape. Then he put it in the stern of his canoe and paddled home to the beach of his house. "Come and see what got," he said to his master. Then his master went and carried the child in his arms. He was very glad on account of the child. Then he tried to give food to the child, but it did not eat. Then the chief spoke and asked for those who could cure it. He found an old man. "I am the one who knows what to do," said the old man. Then, "Go on and get two bull-heads,"

said the old man. Then the two bull-heads were taken, and they were taken to the child. Then they tried to give them [to eat] to the child. Then it ate. It finished its food. Then it was hungry again and it was fed again. Then it finished its food. The child just stood up to eat all that was in the house of its father. Then it finished. Then (it ate all that was) in another house. Then it went on and ate all kinds of food in another house. It finished the food in all the houses. Then the tribe left. The child was all alone, and the child had nothing to eat.